Method and apparatus for forming fiber assembly oriented in one fixed direction

ABSTRACT

A fiber aggregate is opened into individual fibers, the separated fibers are introduced into a duct having a width smaller than the length of individual fibers, and the fibers are forcefully parallelized in one fixed direction within the duct to produce a fiber assembly of the form such as of web or sliver which has the component fibers arranged parallelly in one same direction.

United States Patent 1 Fukuta et al.

[4 1 July 15, 1975 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3.619.869 11/1971 Jakas et al. 19/150 X 3.812.553 5/1974 Marshall et a1. 19/l56.3 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1.415.428 9/1965 France 19/83 934,194 8/1963 United Kingdom 19/150 Primary Examiner-Dorsey Newton Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Kurt Kelman 57] ABSTRACT A fiber aggregate is opened into individual fibers, the separated fibers are introduced into a duct having a width smaller than the length of individual fibers. and the fibers are forcefully parallelized in one fixed direction within the duct to produce a fiber assembly of the form such as of web or sliver which has the component fibers arranged parallelly in one same direction.

4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures Ow Du SHEET Fig-6 20 3b Width of slit (mm) 1b 2b 3b 40 5b 6b 0 O 0 259 in: 6 wwemmo Distance between slit and belt (mm) METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING FIBER ASSEMBLY ORIENTED IN ONE FIXED DIRECTION REFERENCE TO COPENDING APPLICATION This is a continuation-in-part application of our copending application U.S. Ser. No. 198,710 filed Nov. 15, 1971, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a method and apparatus for the manufacture of a fiber assembly having the component fibers parallelized in one direction.

In conventional spinning and other similar processes, a mass of randomly arranged raw fibers is divided into smaller masses of fibers through the combined process of mixing and blending, and the divided masses of fibers are either opened by a carding machine into indi' vidual fibers and conveyed pneumatically or converted into a lap which is then fed to the carding machine to undergo carding, as in the operation of cotton spinning, for example. In the carding machine, the divided masses of fibers are opened and separated by the carding action of a card clothing or metallic wires, with the result that fibers which are entangled and held together in position are doffed from the surface of the roller and form a web." The web is then passed through a small trumpet-shaped hole to form the individual fibers into a soft but compact untwisted rope and is discharged as what is called a sliver." In the subsequent drawing process, the component fibers and the rope diameter of the sliver are made uniform by the actions of doubling and drawing. In the final spinning process, the sliver is drawn until it is reduced to a desired diameter and then twisted to produce a yarn.

The mixing and the arrangement of individual fibers in the spinning process are important factors which have a direct effect upon the quality of yarn produced. The fibers are mixed and parallelized by repeating the basic operations of doubling and drawing, i.e., collection and transfer of fibers, as previously mentioned. It is, however, extremely difficult to uniformly mix and arrange the individual fibers in one direction. In the conventional spinning method, a fiber aggregate in the form of masses or loosely bundled ropes is mechanically mixed and parallelized. Thus, employment of this method has required a large amount of equipment, involved many repeating processes, and entailed complication of operation.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for the manufacture of a fiber assembly of the form of a web or sliver which has individually separated fibers parallelized in one direction and collected in an unentangled form.

It is another object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for the manufacture of a web or sliver which has fibers from different kinds of fiber aggregate blended and mixed uniformly.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for easy manufacture of a sliver of uniform diameter which has the component fibers parallelized in one direction.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for easy manufacture of a laminated body which is composed of web layers having the component fibers parallelized in fixed directions differing from one another.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To accomplish the objects mentioned above, the present invention introduces individually separated fibers into a duct having a width smaller than the length of the individual fibers, parallelizes them in one direction within said duct and collects the parallelized fibers. The individual fibers within the duct are parallelized forcefully in one direction and permitted to fall therethrough to a collector, with the result that the individual fibers are collected in the form of a bundle which has the component fibers oriented in one direction without any entanglement. When a fiber aggregate charge is suitably composed of natural fibers such as of wool and cotton, synthetic fibers, inorganic fibers, etc., there is obtained a web or sliver which has the component fibers of different kinds mixed uniformly.

Other objects and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the further disclosure of the invention given hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one preferred embodiment of the apparatus for forming a fiber assembly having the component fibers parallelized in one direction according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross section of one preferred embodiment of the fiber dispersing means for use in the apparatus according to this invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view illustrating another embodiment of the apparatus according to this invention.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of still another embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating another embodiment provided with a means for forming a sliver as fitted to the apparatus of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a graph indicating the relation between the duct width and the degree of fiber arrangement as determined with respect to the web obtained according to the method of this invention.

FIG. 7 is a graph indicating the relation between the distance from the duct entrance to the collector and the degree of fiber arrangement as determined with respect to the web obtained according to the method of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

Referring to FIG. 1, a fiber dispersing means 1 is disposed on an upper plate 5 supported by a frame 9 and a collector belt 3 is held in position on a lower plate 6. A duct 2 is joined to the lower part of fiber dispersing means I. Said duct 2 has a fiber discharge slit 4 at its forward end. Said slit 4 opens toward the collector belt 3. The endless collector belt 3 is constructed of a netlike material permitting free passage of air, supported by two rollers 17 rotated by a suitable drive means (not illustrated A preferred embodiment of the fiber dispersing means 1 is constructed, as illustrated in FIG. 2, of a fiber feeding chamber 7 fitted with a feed roller 8 and a fiber opening chamber 10 provided with an opening roller 11, feeding chamber 7 communicating with the opening chamber 10 via a small passage 12. On the outer faces of the two rollers 8 and 11 are disposed a multiplicity of spike-like projections 8 and 11 such as, for example, metal wires. Said projections on the feed roller 8 are inclined in a direction opposite the direction of the rollers rotation while those on the opening roller 11 are inclined in the same direction as that of 5 the rollers rotation. The two rollers 8 and 11 are rotated in the same direction by means of a motor 13 (FIG. 1). The rotating speed of the feed roller 8 and that of the opening roller 11 are suitably adjusted in accordance with the kind of fiber aggregate to be handled, the rate at which the fiber aggregate is fed and the thickness of the web desired to be formed.

In the case of an ordinary fiber aggregate, the feed roller 8 is disposed directly opposite the opening roller 1 1 across the snall passage 12. In the case of a fiber aggregate composed of long staple fibers, however, the feed roller 8 may suitably be located closer to the feed hopper 16.

The space 14 formed by the wall of the fiber opening chamber 10 and the periphery of the opening roller 11 extends to and communicates with the duct 2. Said duct 2 has a width smaller than the length of individually separated fibers. Fibers which have been sent flying from the fiber dispersing means 1, therefore, are forcefully oriented in the direction of the ducts length and subsequently led through a discharge slit 4 onto the collector belt 3.

A fiber aggregate introduced into the fiber feeding chamber 7 is conveyed by the feed roller 8 via the small passage 12 to the fiber opening chamber 10. Upon contact with the projections 11 of the opening roller 11 being rotated at a high rate of speed, the fiber aggregate is subjected to the carding action produced by the projections. As the fiber aggregate comes into contact with the projections 11' of the fiber opening roller 11, the forward portion of the fiber aggregate which has touched the projections 11' is pulled out of the fiber aggregate and individual fibers in that portion are separated from one another because the projections 11' are inclined in the direction of the rotation thereof. Since the projections 8' of the feed roller 8 are inclined in the direction opposite the direction of rotation of that roller and the incoming fiber aggregate is loosely held between the wall surface 7' of the feeding chamber 7 and projections 8', the individual fibers of the fiber aggregate are not broken even if the fibers are caught and pulled forcibly by the projections of the fiber opening roller 11 and the fiber aggregate is not wound on the feed roller 8.

Individual fibers which have been caught by the projections ll' of the fiber opening roller 11 in consequence of the carding action are released from the projections by virtue of the centrifugal force produced by the high-speed rotation of the fiber opening roller 11 and the air currents generated by the rotation of roller 11, with the released fibers sent flying through the space 14 and led into the duct 2. While the individual fibers are in transit to the discharge slit 4, each fiber is made to assume a slanted position because of the air currents drawn behind by that fiber and of the flexure of the fiber itself. Thus, the center of action of the air resistance exerted on the fiber ceases to coincide with the center of gravity thereof and, consequently, couple occurs and acts on the fiber, making the fiber assume a horizontal state (parallel state with reference to the collector). The parallelized fibers are successively discharged through the discharge slit 4 onto the collector belt 3, giving rise to a continuous web having these fibers parallelized in one direction. The web thus formed on the collector belt 3 is recovered by a suitable means (not illustrated). In this case, the fibers individually separated from one another within the fiber opening chamber 10 are forwarded into the duct 2 by virtue of air currents generated by the rotation of the fiber opening roller 11 inside the fiber opening chamber 10 and then allowed to drift down toward the collector belt 3.

The present invention can invariably be applied to natural fibers such as of wool and cotton, synthetic fibers and inorganic fibers. Desirably these fibers are used in lengths not smaller than about 20 mm. The duct to be used, therefore, desirably has a width less than about one half the length of the fibers to be parallelized and a length more than about five times said length of fibers. If the height of this duct is too small, the individual fibers coming from the fiber dispersing means 1 will fall and reach the collector belt before they are parallelized during the travel through the duct, with the result that they are collected in a misaligned form. ln order for them to be sufficiently parallelized in transit through the duct, therefore, the height is required to be more than about 3 times the length of fibers, though it is variable to some extent with the thickness of individual fibers. The distance between the entrance to the duct and the collector is desirably as short as permissible. When the duct is formed in a bent or curved shape as illustrated in FIG. 3, the individual fibers delivered from the fiber opening means collide into the bent or curved portion inside the duct 2 and this collision facilitates parallelization of the fibers and, consequently, reduces the possibility of inclusion of misaligned fibers in the web to be collected on the collector 3.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment in which the duct 2 is disposed so as to form a fixed angle with the direction in which the collector belt 3 travels. Referring to FlG. 4, the individual fibers separated from one another by the fiber dispersing means 1 are conveyed into the duct 2, wherein the separated fibers are made to advance in such way as to be oriented in one direction before they are discharged through the discharge slit 4 formed at the forward end of the duct 2 onto the collector belt 3. Since duct 2 is disposed so as to form a fixed angle with reference to the path of the collector belt 3, the fibers which come out of the discharge slit 4 are received on the collector belt 3 in a direction oblique at fixed angle with respect to the direction in which the collector belt 3 travels. Consequently, there is obtained a web having component fibers parallelized in a fixed oblique direction.

Now, a method for forming a sliver from a web having the component fibers parallelized in an oblique direction is described with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an apparatus having a sliver forming means incorporated into the apparatus illustrated in F IG. 4. At an end portion of the collector belt 3, a collector roller 15 is disposed at the same angle as the duct 2. When the collector roller 15 is rotated by a motor 18 in a direction opposite the direction in which the belt is revolved, the roller takes up the obliquely parallelized fibers in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the fibers are arranged and then delivers the fibers in the form of a sliver into the drawing roller 19. Since the fibers have invariably been taken up in the direction of the fibers length, the sliver 20 obtained consequently has the component fibers parallelized in the direction of fiber length.

As is clear from the foregoing explanation, a web of high quality having the component fibers parallelized in one direction can be manufactured easily according to this invention. A fiber assembly composed of a plurality of web layers having the component fibers parallelized in directions different from one another may be obtained when a plurality of fiber dispersing means are disposed along one collector belt in different directions so that fibers are placed in directions different from one another on the collector belt.

Different fiber aggregates, such as those composed of woolenfibers and of synthetic fibers, may be fed in a layered form. In this case, since the fiber aggregates are opened into individual fibers there can easily be manufactured a web or sliver having component fibers uniformly blended.

In the case of a fiber aggregate which is composed of continous synthetic fibers (known popularly as tow"), a suitable cutting mechanism (such as a spiral cutter) may be incorporated so as to chop the tow to a required length. Then, the chopped fibers are continuously fed to the feed roller 8 in the fiber dispersing means 1. Thus, a sliver of desired construction can be obtained directly from the tow.

According to this invention, individually separated fibers are fed into a duct 2 having a width smaller than the fibers length so that the fibers, while falling through the duct, are forcefully parallelized in one direction as described above. Accordingly, a web or sliver excelling in fiber orientation can readily be manufactured at a high speed. Besides, the present invention permits a plurality of different fibers to be blended uniformly to produce a web or sliver of blended fibers effectively.

This invention will further be described with reference to preferred embodiments. it should be understood that this invention is not limited thereto.

EXAMPLE 1 Fibers having an average length of 40 mm were fed from a fiber dispersing means into ducts 400 mm in length, 300 mm in height and 8 mm, 13 mm, 23 mm and 33 mm respectively in width and were deposited on a collector belt in motion. The slits of these ducts were at a distance of 5 mm from the collector belt. The data indicative of the relation between the degree of fiber arrangement in the resultant web and the width of the slit are graphically shown in FIG. 6. The plots of circles (0) represent data obtained for fibers of 52 deniers and those of crosses (x) represent data obtained for fibers of 3 deniers. The graph clearly shows that the degree of fiber arrangement in the web is increased with the decreasing width of slit 4.

The term degree of fiber arrangement" as used herein means the ratio of the apparent length l' of a given fiber (fibers projected length in the direction of the slits length) to the true length l of the fiber. This ratio has a meaning such that the desirability of fiber parallelization to be obtained increases with the increasing closeness of the value of ratio to 1."

EXAMPLE 2 The duct of Example I having a width of 8 mm was used. Webs were similarly formed, except the distance from the slit of the duct to the collector belt was varied.

EXAMPLE 3 The duct of Example 1 having a width of 8 mm was used. With this duct placed at varying heights of 50 mm, mm and 200 mm, fibers 40 mm in length and of 52 deniers and fibers 40 mm in length and of 3 deniers were fed into the duct. Webs consequently formed were subjected to measurement of degree of fiber arrangement. The results are shown in the following table.

Duct Degree of fiber arrangement height (mm) 52 d 3 d From the table, it is clear that the degree of fiber arrangement increases with the increasing duct height and that this trend is conspicuous particularly in the case of fibers having a smaller thickness.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for forming an assembly of fibers extending in one direction substantially parallel to one another, which comprises 1 a means for dispersing a fiber aggregate and separating the same into individually separated fibers,

2 a duct having an inlet in communication with the dispersing means for receiving the individually separated fibers therefrom,

a the duct having a width smaller than the length of the fibers and a length in excess of the length of the fibers, and

b the duct being arranged to permit the individual fibers to fall freely therethrough and through an outlet slit thereof,

3 a moving collecting means underneath the outlet slit for collecting the parallel fibers falling freely out of the outlet slit in an assembly of substantially parallel fibers and for conveying the assembly of substantially parallel fibers away from the outlet slit of the duct,

a the outlet slit of the duct extending in a direction oblique to the direction of movement of the collecting means,

4 a take-up roller extending in the same direction as the outlet slit and rotating in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the collecting means for taking up the assembly of substantially parallel fibers, and

S a drawing means arranged to receive the assembly of substantially parallel fibers in the form of a sliver from the take-up roller.

2. A method of forming an assembly of fibers extending in one direction substantially parallel to one another, which comprises the steps of l feeding individually separated fibers into a confined zone having a width smaller than the length of the fibers and a length in excess of the length of the fibers,

2 forcefully orienting the fibers in the direction of the length of the confined zone,

3 permitting the individual fibers to fall freely through the confined zone and out of the zone in substantially parallel alignment in respect of the length of the zone,

4 collecting the parallel fibers falling out of the zone in an assembly of substantially parallel fibers, and

5 conveying the assembly of substantially parallel fibers from the confined zone.

3. The method of forming a fiber assembly as defined 8 in claim 2, wherein the width of the confined zone is less than about one half the length of the fibers, the length of the confined zone is more than about five times the length of the fibers, and the height through which the fibers fall in the confined zone is more than about three times the length of the fibers.

4. The method of forming a fiber assembly as defined in claim 2, wherein the assembly of substantially parallel fibers is conveyed in a direction oblique to the direction of the fibers, the assembly is then taken up in a di rection perpendicular to the direction of the fibers, and the assembly of fibers is subsequently delivered to a drawing station in the form of a sliver. 

1. An apparatus for forming an assembly of fibers extending in one direction substantially parallel to one another, which comprises 1 a means for dispersing a fiber aggregate and separating the same into individually separated fibers, 2 a duct having an inlet in communication with the dispersing means for receiving the individually separated fibers therefrom, a the duct having a width smaller than the length of the fibers and a length in excess of the length of the fibers, and b the duct being arranged to permit the individual fibers to fall freely therethrough and through an outlet slit thereof, 3 a moving collecting means undErneath the outlet slit for collecting the parallel fibers falling freely out of the outlet slit in an assembly of substantially parallel fibers and for conveying the assembly of substantially parallel fibers away from the outlet slit of the duct, a the outlet slit of the duct extending in a direction oblique to the direction of movement of the collecting means, 4 a take-up roller extending in the same direction as the outlet slit and rotating in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the collecting means for taking up the assembly of substantially parallel fibers, and 5 a drawing means arranged to receive the assembly of substantially parallel fibers in the form of a sliver from the take-up roller.
 2. A method of forming an assembly of fibers extending in one direction substantially parallel to one another, which comprises the steps of 1 feeding individually separated fibers into a confined zone having a width smaller than the length of the fibers and a length in excess of the length of the fibers, 2 forcefully orienting the fibers in the direction of the length of the confined zone, 3 permitting the individual fibers to fall freely through the confined zone and out of the zone in substantially parallel alignment in respect of the length of the zone, 4 collecting the parallel fibers falling out of the zone in an assembly of substantially parallel fibers, and 5 conveying the assembly of substantially parallel fibers from the confined zone.
 3. The method of forming a fiber assembly as defined in claim 2, wherein the width of the confined zone is less than about one half the length of the fibers, the length of the confined zone is more than about five times the length of the fibers, and the height through which the fibers fall in the confined zone is more than about three times the length of the fibers.
 4. The method of forming a fiber assembly as defined in claim 2, wherein the assembly of substantially parallel fibers is conveyed in a direction oblique to the direction of the fibers, the assembly is then taken up in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the fibers, and the assembly of fibers is subsequently delivered to a drawing station in the form of a sliver. 